recycling
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Plastic roads may put asphalt to shame
The days of putting up with crumbling asphalt streets might just come to an end. Construction company VolkerWessels has revealed plans for recycled plastic roads that are both more sustainable and more practical than old-fashioned blacktop. Besides reusing material, they'd last about three times longer and survive greater temperature ranges (between -40F and 176F) -- despite their fragile look, they're less likely to crack under the strain of vehicles or the weather. You can pre-assemble them to lay them down faster, too, and their hollow structure is handy for cabling and pipes.
Apple I worth $200,000 gets tossed out for recycling
You're about to get a textbook lesson in why you should always, always check vintage gadgets before you toss them out. A woman discarding her late husband's electronics inadvertently gave a Milpitas recycling firm an ultra-rare Apple I computer that ultimately sold for $200,000. While the recycler's policy is to share half the revenue from these sales, the woman refused to offer her name or get a receipt -- she's missing out on a $100,000 check for trading in a piece of computing history. The company would recognize her on sight, but its only chance of rewarding the mystery donor right now is to get the word out and hope she returns. [Image credit: Emmanuel Dunand /AFP/Getty Images]
Apple lets you trade in some of its rivals' smartphones
Yes, the rumors of Apple expanding its trade-in program were true -- the company's stores (both online and retail) are now willing to take your competing smartphone in return for credit toward a new iPhone. If you live in Canada, France, Italy, the UK or the US, you can trade in certain Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices (the BlackBerry Z10, Lumia 1020 and Nexus 5 are among the examples). We can't imagine that you'll be too eager to use this option -- you may either remain loyal to a platform, or can find a buyer who'll offer more -- but it could be useful if you're determined to ditch an old phone in an eco-friendly way. Just be sure to call if you're going to try this soon. We've reached out to a number of stores, and only a few were aware that non-iPhone trade-ins were live. It could take some time before every store is up to speed. Photo by Will Lipman.
Apple's trade-in policy may soon include gift cards for rival devices
Apple's not exactly new to courting Android fans, but a reported change to its trade-in policy could finally get owners of other smartphones pledging allegiance to Cupertino. The usual slew of unnamed sources told 9to5Mac that Apple will soon allow customers to swap non-Apple smartphones for gift cards in-store, just like people can currently do with old iPhones, iPads and Macs. If 9to5's report holds true, retail employees are already being trained on the particulars of the process now, and you'll be able to ditch your old gear in one of the company's well-lit glass shrines in the coming weeks.
Energizer makes high-performance batteries from your recycled cells
Here's something different: disposable batteries that could help reduce the mountains of e-waste that people create every day. Energizer has unveiled EcoAdvanced, the first high-performance alkaline battery to be made partly from recycled cells. About 4 percent of the new power pack comes from old batteries turned into an "active ingredient" (Energizer is keeping this hush-hush), giving you a long-lasting energy source without having to lean quite so much on fresh material.
Two Mac Pro cases + woodworking skill = unique bench
With the advent of the new, smaller "trashcan" Mac Pro, we're going to start seeing a lot more of the all-aluminum PowerMac G5 / Mac Pro cases going to the recyclers or - even worse - the dump. Gary Katz of Mac M.D. is a longtime Apple Consultant who saw a really impressive bench designed by a German Mac user that used two of the aluminum cases as stands as "legs". Katz was having his kitchen remodeled and decided to ask the contractors if they'd use their expertise to convert two gutted Mac Pro cases into a similar bench. The bench, which uses African mahogany, Wenge, and Padouk woods in addition to the Mac Pros, is beautiful on its own. Once he had it delivered, Katz added a string of LED rope lights inside the cabinets as well as a backrest to lean against. There are more photos detailing the work done by the contractor and Katz's additions on his personal blog. Have you upcycled a Mac or two into something as functional and beautiful as this? Let us know about it in the comments and please leave a link to some photos.
Maker movement may be the cure for our disposable times
It's no secret that we live in an increasingly disposable world. Where once we would spend hours or even days repairing and customizing our gadgets and home appliances, now we just replace them when something breaks or fails to live up to expectations. Danielle George, professor of radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester, may sound like a bit of a crank when she complains that people under 40 expect everything to "just work," but she has a point. If your Nexus 4 starts seeming a little slow, most people don't wipe it out to get a fresh start or install a lightweight ROM. They just go out and buy the Nexus 6. If your laptop battery barely lasts an hour, you don't crack open your MacBook Air and swap in a new one; you use it as an excuse to pick up the latest generation of Apple's ultra-light machine.
Your old laptop's battery will light homes in developing countries
Don't be too quick to toss out the battery from that ancient laptop -- it might just be the key to powering homes in developing countries, and helping the environment in the process. IBM researchers have revealed UrJar, a device that turns old lithium-ion battery packs into rechargeable energy sources for low-power devices like LED light bulbs, fans and cellphones. To create the gadget, the team extracts functioning lithium-ion cells from a trashed battery and combines them with both charging dongles and safety circuitry. It sounds simple, but it's potentially very effective. According to IBM, roughly 70 percent of all discarded batteries can provide at least four hours of LED lighting every day for a year. That's enough to offer extra safety to homes in areas with little to no reliable electricity, or to keep a street vendor in business after sunset.
Project Ara collaborator will give you $12,500 to recycle plastic better
Sure, the idea of keeping your phone up-to-date by swapping out parts is nice. But Dave Hakkens didn't invent Phonebloks (with tech Motorola borrowed for Project Ara) so you could have the latest electronics -- he was simply trying to reduce waste. He also wants more plastic recycled, and was recently awarded €10,000 ($12,500) to improve his small scale recycling machine, called "Precious Plastic." With Phonebloks, Hakkens doesn't have the time to make it happen personally, so he's willing to give that money to someone who does -- along with the use of his large workshop, tools and even lunch.
Turn a broken iPod into a fashionable, but fractured wallet
Have a broken iPhone or iPod touch kicking around and want to do something with it? If you answered with a resounding "yes," then you should check out this Instructable from 13-year-old member trosen2109 that shows one clever way to recycle the "ready-to-be-discarded" device. Rosen pulls the screen off his broken iPod and tears it apart to remove the internal electronics. With only the shell remaining, he then reassembles it into a nostalgic wallet. As a bonus for owners of older devices, the large 30-pin Dock connector port opening can be used to insert change. The wallet may not be suitable for high rollers with a large wad of cash, but it may be practical as a disguised bank for small amounts of money. It's also a perfect lesson in making and creative electronics recycling.
Gro Recycling: Feed your brain with this trash game
Gro Recycling is a fun educational game that teaches children about recycling and the process involved in taking a recyclable material and turning it into a new product. Players must "feed" the right recyclable material to the correct bin and then take the bin to the machine that will take that material and turn it into something new. Gro Recycling is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 5.0 or later. There are six different materials to recycle from plastic to batteries with a matching recycling bin for each one. Each recycling bin character gives a reaction for either liking the material given to them or disliking it. Players learn by trying to give each recycling bin the item and after they get the correct reaction, children will learn what each bin likes the "eat." When players add an item into each bin, there is a little bubble that floats up with the current amount of items in that bin. Players can use this number to test how much of that type of item will fill up a red bar on the recycling machine. You don't have to fill up the machine completely to make a new item, but it is fun to experiment and see what happens when you put just one item vs what happens when you put 50 items. When players decide on an amount to try, they can use the hook to pick up the recycling bin and take it to the recycling machine. Each type of material you can recycle has its own unique music and design that is revealed when you take the bin to the machine. This is one of the more entertaining parts of Gro Recycling because players get to add their own melodic twist to the two selections of music per machine by tapping on the machine parts. This also helps the machine make the new product. When players are done having fun with the music at the machine, they can tap the green button to see the new product they helped make transported to a picnic where some cute characters are having a picnic. The characters eat the new product or in the case of the batteries, enjoy some great music, and then the product becomes recyclable material and the process starts all over again. Gro Recycling is an exciting educational game that does a great job of teaching children about recycling without requiring direction from parents as the characters do all of the work with their reactions to the different materials. Gro Recycling is US$2.99 on the App Store and it is one of the best tools for teaching children about recycling in a fun way.
Discarded car batteries could become low-cost solar cells
It's great that manufacturers recover lead from discarded car batteries to use in new ones, since lead production from ores yields toxic residues. The problem is, when we shift from lead-acid to lithium-ion and other types of batteries (and we're starting to), over 200 million old batteries could be retired in the US and cause serious environmental issues. Thankfully, a team of MIT researchers has discovered one way to recycle lead from car batteries, and the end product is something very, very useful: long-lasting solar cells. We're talking about a new breed of solar cells in particular, one that uses a compound called perovskite, which needs lead to be manufactured.
The Ekocycle Cube 3D-prints recycled plastic, is backed by will.i.am
Who isn't making 3D printers these days? We've seen countless models hit the market, but the new Ekocycle Cube from 3D Systems may be the first to boast backing from both a beverage maker and a celebrity. Coca-Cola and will.i.am have been collaborating on the sustainability initiative dubbed Ekocycle since 2011, and at CES this year the artist shared his passion for 3D printing and other emerging tech. As the latest announcement in the eco-friendly campaign, the new printer uses post-consumer plastic to create a variety of designs. It's not the first attempt at make 3D-printing a bit greener, but with some star power and the clout of 3D Systems behind it, the Ekocycle Cube definitely looks to be the highest-profile one to date.
Apple's iPad trade-in program extends to France, Germany, Spain, and the UK
This past April, Apple expanded its recycling program in North America to include any product the company has released. In addition, owners of older generation iPads could trade in their devices for credit towards a newer model. Now the program has been expanded to include more countries around the world including France, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Initially only the USA and Canada were eligible. Of course there are a few catches; currently Apple only issues trade-in credit for second, third, and fourth generation iPads, or first generations iPad minis. Users with a current generation iPad Air or mini cannot trade-in their devices at the moment for store credit. Even without getting a trade-in credit towards a new product, it's a wise idea to take your obsolete or dead Apple products to the company for recycling. Improperly discarded electronics are a major environmental hazard due to the toxic materials used in manufacturing, and the problem is growing every year. Do your part and recycle your old gear, even if you can't get trade-in credit for your troubles.
Apple expands its recycling program and other news from April 21, 2014
On this Earth Day, Apple has expanded its free recycling program to include any Apple product, no matter the age. While not all products will be eligible for a gift card when traded in, Apple will take any item produced in its 30-year history in an effort to avert more electronic waste from reaching landfills. You can read more about Apple's efforts to grow the use of renewable energy in its business and watch the "Better" video (narrated by Tim Cook) at the apple.com/environment page. Other stories from Monday afternoon include: The Hollywood Reporter reports that director Danny Boyle is in talks with Sony Pictures to direct the Walter Issacson-book biopic of Steve Jobs. And those talks include a possibility of Leonardo DiCaprio starring as Steve Jobs. Version 2.0 of Dropbox's Mailbox has been released, with the addition of an auto-swipe feature and the use of Dropbox to sync preferences across devices. Google Glass will be adding SMS capabilities for iPhone users later this week. Catch up with these features: Narrative Clip lifelogging camera: Hands-on with the wearable photo capture device Find Tinder too ambiguous? Heavenly Sinful is here to help. The 25 best Game Boy games to play on your iPhone Dear Aunt TUAW: Why don't my searches work in Safari anymore? Apple renewable energy use grows from 35 to 95 percent in less than 4 years Mac 101: A handy list of startup options for Macs running OS X Rumor Roundup: Validity not confirmed
Apple extends free recycling to all used products - and you might get a gift card
Reiterating what the Apple CEO said at last month's shareholder meeting, Tim Cook still wants to "leave the world better than we found it", and nows he's trying harder to deliver on that. Starting today, all of the company's stores will accept any Apple product for recycling at no charge. Better still, if it looks resalable, the company will offer some store credit (read Apple gift card) to sweeten the deal. Talking to the AP, Lisa Jackson, VP of environmental initiatives (and former EPA administrator) said that Apple wants to "use all our innovation and all of our expertise to make the planet more secure and make the environment better." Now, it might be hard to care less about both the accompanying glossy video from Apple (narrated by Cook and embedded after the break) and the portal site touching on the company's multi-pronged green initiatives, but even our cynicism can't defend against some of the impressive environmental progress made by Cook's team in recent years.
The Daily Grind: Do you hate model recycling?
I have one minor but persistent pet peeve across all of the MMOs that I've played, which is that it really bugs me to see armor and weapon models recycled over and over again. Yes, I know it's a silly complaint because it's just not realistic to expect artists to come up with an endless supply of unique-looking gear, but every time I get a drop with better stats that either looks identical to something I own or something I used to have, I give a deep inward sigh. I guess there are degrees of model recycling, depending on how many variants there are in the game, but I always wish there would be more. Do you hate model recycling, are you indifferent to it, or do you think I'm being a jerk to the art team by just mentioning this? Is the solution to crowdsource model art to the community, as is being done in some MMOs? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Book criticizes Apple's recycling program, consumers in general
Macworld took a look at a new book by writer Adam Minter today; Junkyard Planet (US$25.99, Bloomsbury Press) explores the business of recycling, and in an excerpt from his book published by the website, Minter takes Apple to task on the effectiveness of its recycling program and attempts to lay guilt on the consuming public as well. Starting off, Minter appears to have an issue with a comment on Apple's FAQ for its recycling program, where the company reassures potential recyclers that, "You are also ensuring that products that have reached the end of their useful life are recycled in an environmentally responsible manner in North America." Rather than taking Apple at its word (the company wouldn't tell him where the items were refurbished in North America), Minter immediately assumed that the work is being done outside the US, but quickly adds that "offering technically oriented employment to people in poor countries is a good thing." After taking the lying corporation to the woodshed, Minter then finds fit to chastise consumers in general. He apparently doesn't realize that by publishing his book, he's killing trees (I seriously doubt if Bloomsbury is using 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper, hemp covers and artisanal soy ink in printing its books...), encouraging people to buy more e-readers and causing the consumption of energy through shipping physical books and recharging batteries. His main problem? The results of some experiments that suggest "that the addition of a recycling option can lead to increased resource usage" and that by offering a recycling option, Apple is encouraging people to buy new products. Minter's next target? "Tight design," particularly aiming at the MacBook Air as an example of a product that is "built to be shredded, not repaired, upgraded and reused" when it is no longer useful. Yes, a lot of MacBook users miss the days when they could add RAM, a larger hard drive and a new battery pack to extend the life of an old device, but the incredible popularity of the MacBook Air's "tight design" seems to indicate that most consumers really don't give a rip about upgrading old devices -- they'd rather have a sleek, lightweight and ultimately refurbishable laptop. I won't go into more detail about the book, the Macworld excerpt or the premise of both, other than to say if Minter and some of his readers are that concerned about the impact of Apple on the planet, they should just not buy its products or any other consumer electronics. Things aren't going to change overnight, and it appears to me (and environmental organizations) that Apple has been making progress that will ultimately lead to very earth-friendly products.
Inspiration Mars ship using human waste as a radiation shield: no really, it's fine
Dennis Tito is planning an ambitious private flyby of Mars for 2018 that will carry all kinds of logistical challenges during its proposed 501-day span, not the least of which is shielding the crew from radiation without consuming valuable resources. The team's solution is a clever one, if not especially pretty: human waste. While the walls of the Inspiration Mars spacecraft will initially be lined with water-filled bags to guard against cosmic rays, their contents will be gradually replaced with er, byproduct that will be dehydrated through the bag (possibly using polyethylene) to reclaim and purify water for drinking. As water-based materials are better at stopping radiation than metal, the approach theoretically represents the best of all worlds with less bulk, a simpler life support system and maximum room for supplies. If the Inspiration Mars group can keep the bags working at high efficiency in space, it won't have to worry about its travelers' safety; their comfort with being surrounded by their own waste may be another matter.
Invisible's 'The New Obsolete' showcases self-constructed instruments, touts a typewriter-driven piano (video)
If you're hip to repurposing old tech for new inventions, Invisible is right up your alley. The Greensboro-based unit calls themselves a "mechanical music museum" and "a reverse engineered folk science daydream" when describing their elaborate set of sound-making contraptions and recycled video equipment. The outfit's effort The New Obsolete was part of the Moogfest happenings this weekend, and our curiosity was immediately piqued. This particular performance is labeled as "an exploded view of the strange romance between humans and technology." Among all of the self-constructed instruments is the Selectric Piano: a typewriter that uses both computer and piano parts to control a keyboard. Each keystroke by the typist corresponds to a note added to collective soundscape and a mounted video camera allows the audience to keep tabs on the textual component. The project also showcases an object known as Elsewhere's Roof. The device controls a set of drum and percussion tools with water dropping into a few rather hi-tech Mason jars. In addition to arsenal of noise makers, multi-channel video and library of collected audio (via tape decks and turntables, of course) rounds out the lot. We were able to catch one of the stellar showings, so hit the gallery below for a look at the wares while a snippet of the action awaits beyond the break.
